


Collect Call

by ghostfacekillmonger



Category: Watchmen (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:48:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23383300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostfacekillmonger/pseuds/ghostfacekillmonger
Summary: Things ended just like he said they would. And you wish you could have said more.
Relationships: Dr. Manhattan/Black!Female!Reader, Dr. Manhattan/Black!Reader, Dr. Manhattan/Reader
Kudos: 8





	Collect Call

You heaved and vomited when your feet finally touched the solid, sandy ground. Teleporting always made you sick. Jon knew that, but this time you didn’t have a spare second to object. The Seventh Kalvary had invaded your home so quickly, he had no choice but to make you disappear. It was for your own good. It’s the only way he knew you’d be safe.

The weather in your new location was still relatively warm and pleasant for winter, but the air was dry. A soft breeze whipped around and cooled the heat in your cheeks. You were in the desert. Gila Flats to be specific.

After spitting out the remnants of your scrambled egg breakfast, you took a moment to take in your surroundings. There wasn’t much in the distance except for a one-lane road that led to an abandoned test site and a rusty blue phone booth that summoned you to “TALK TO GOD”. Your feet slid in the sand as you walked towards it. It wasn’t a product of Trieu Industries, that’s for sure. Perhaps it was created by some lowly Arizona scientists that thought they could communicate with Doctor Manhattan. Or maybe it was just a cool aesthetic attraction for Instagram influencers.

You tucked yourself under the hood of the booth and stared at the white receiver. You were less concerned about how it worked if it worked at all. At this point, you just wanted to speak out loud and let off steam. Damn him if he could hear you at all. You picked up the handset and wiped it clean on your shirt before placing it to your ear. There was only one unmarked button on the base. You pressed it to see what would happen.

The phone trilled as if someone was waiting to answer on the other line. It stopped after the third time and transitioned to an automated recording. A feminine voice that sounded eerily similar to yours said: 

_“Say what’s on your heart. God is listening.”_

You leaned on the aluminum panels and struggled with your choice of words. What do you say to the man who already knows what you’ve said? You groaned and chuckled to yourself. He told you that you’d hate him one day for this very reason.

“You’re a piece of shit, you know that?” You sighed and wiped the sweat from the back of your neck. “You could have prevented this. Since you claim to know the future. And the past. And everything in between because you’re experiencing every moment all at once…or whatever bullshit line you sold me. How many other women did you lie to? Hmm? How many other Doctor Manhattans are walking around Earth, and Mars, and fuckin’ Europa falling in love with lonely women at bars?”

You stood in silence and tried to recall the night the two of you met. Due to a checkered past of drug and alcohol abuse, your memories were often fuzzy. That’s one of the things you liked about Jon - he didn’t need to remember. He was always literally living in the moment. Five years ago you were nursing the wounds of a bad breakup with a rum and Coke. Well, three rum and Cokes, a vodka straight, two beers, and a handful of stale pretzels. A man took a seat next to you at the bar and ordered a tall dry stout for himself and a burger and fries for you.

_“How did you know I was hungry?” You asked, staring into your watered-down drink._

_He chuckled and took a small sip from his glass. “Ten minutes from now, you’re telling me your stomach is growling and that you haven’t eaten all day.”_

_“Lucky guess…”_

_“I don’t believe in luck.”_

_“What do you believe in then?” Curiosity gave way and you finally took a peek at his face. His skin was a radiant brown, illuminated by the blue lights under the hood of the bar. He was clean-shaven and otherwise smooth aside from the stubble growing on his chin. His eyes bore straight through you as if he was reading your mind. The shell he inhibited, you would learn later, was of a man named Calvin Jelani. He had taken a liking to his form._

_“I believe in you.”_

You bit your lip and fought back tears as the memories started to flood in. “I remember…the night we met, you told me I would be sober again. And healthy and thriving. I didn’t believe you. I thought I was doomed to be an addict for the rest of my life…but you supported me because you knew. You knew I was going to get better.” You turned around and looked out in the bleak desert. “What am I supposed to do without you? I can’t do this alone.”

“Where are you, Jon?” Your tears pooled and dried on your cheeks before you could muster the strength to wipe them. You were slowing turning into a blubbering mess, yelling into the receiver of a phone to that went nowhere. “Where the fuck are you?” You cried out into the open desert until you were hoarse. You were seething with so much rage and fear and sadness that your body couldn’t contain it. 

_“I’m…everywhere.”_

Your breath hitched at the sound of his voice. The booths Lady Trieu had created were a scam. A quick way to collect money for the promise they were sending a message to him on Mars. But this humble contraption in the desert was the real thing. He sent you there because he knew you would have final words for him and he owed you a proper goodbye. 

“J-Jon? Are you…”

“I’m fine, but I can’t come back to you this time…You’re going to ask me ‘why not’ now.”

“Don’t do that. I fucking hate it when you do that…” You tightened your grip on the telephone and tried not to break down again.

“When I meet people, I know that our time is limited. I knew that with Angela. With Laurie. Janey. And I knew that with you, too. We had a beautiful life together.” He paused as if he were gathering emotions you weren’t sure he ever had. “I still believe in you. I believe you will do well without me.”

“I don’t want to do this without you.”

“Yes, you do. You want simplicity. Not my chaos.”

Tears started to fall again and you wiped them away quickly with the back of your hand. If this was truly the end of you two, at least you had closure. The automated voice crept up again and announced that your time was almost up. How convenient. You took one last deep breath.

“I love you, Jon.”

Time moved painfully slow after that. Your eyes drifted closed and you waited with bated breath for his reply. 

“I love you, too… _Goodbye_.”


End file.
